The Newsletter Leaf Journal XLI 〜 The newsletter of the forget-me-nots
Welcome to the 56th edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal, the official newsletter of The New Leaf Journal. As always, this humble newsletter comes to you from the waterproof keyboard of Nicholas A. Ferrell, editor of The New Leaf Journal. Our last newsletter of October 2021 comes with the usual assortment of New Leaf Journal article summaries and links, content from around the web, and other assorted news and notes from The New Leaf Journal project.
Table of Contents
- Leaves From the Week that Was
- Leaves From Around the Web
- Old Leaf Journal
- Most-Turned Leaves Of the Week
- News Leaf Journal
- Taking Leaf
1. Leaves From the Week that Was
I only published four articles in the last week. However, two of the four articles were priority-projects I planned for several weeks.
“Searching for the Figure Behind the Blob Dylan Tags in NYC and Florida”
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 24, 2021.
I published a new entry in my Blob Dylan graffiti tag series. This article was prompted by a tip I received about the person behind the tags via email. I hoped to make some sort of interesting discovery to build on the tip - but in the end, I did not find anything more insightful than what the tipster provided, which is reported. However, you will find some interesting resources on the Blob Dylan tags and my summary conclusions based on what I learned in the project.
“The True Story of Jimmy McMillan and a (Too) Long Line at Dunkin Donuts”
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 26, 2021.
Jimmy McMillan is, without question, the most colorful perennial candidate in New York politics in the last 30 years. Running under the “Rent is Too Damn High” banner, he achieved notoriety far exceeding his lackluster electoral record. In this article, I tell the story of having once waited in the same Dunkin Donuts line as Mr. McMillan. To say “you will never guess what he said” about the long line is probably inaccurate, but let it be said that your guess would not be too good to be true.
“Review Of Night of the Forget-Me-Nots, a Freeware Horror Visual Novel”
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 29, 2021.
I reviewed a non-free visual novel called Bad End for Halloween 2020. For this Halloween, I review Night of the Forget-Me-Nots, a free Japanese indie horror visual novel that was published in 2003 and translated into English in 2006. While it is not without its flaws, it stands as a short and fun adventure with many choices and branching paths that can be tried for the good cost of $0. My review is spoiler-free and intended for those who may consider trying the story for themselves.
“Trick-Or-Treating Vampire Minion Seen in Brooklyn”
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 30, 2021.
I could not let the Halloween season pass without at least one Halloween photo article. Better late than never, I present to you a trick-or-treating Minion dressed as a vampire. I will post a second Halloween photo article for Halloween itself.
2. Leaves From Around the Web
Now for some article recommendations from around the web…
ESPN: “Golf legend Greg Norman set to run competing tour that hopes to begin play in 2022”
Bob Harig. October 29, 2021.
Greg Norman, one of the top golfers of the 1980s and 1990s, had floated creating his own golf tour in the 90s. It appears he is ready to execute his idea now. It should be an interesting endeavor. I discussed Mr. Norman’s last run at a major as a 53-year old at the 2008 Open Championship here at The New Leaf Journal.
Thurrott: “Google is Pulling YouTube from Roku”
Paul Thurrott. October 23, 2021.
Although I have a Roku TV, I disconnected it from the internet and now stream content using my computer. I chose this approach for many reasons - consider incidents like the one I recount to be merely one more. With my advocacy for better streaming practices aside, Google’s demands here sound unsurprisingly unreasonable.
SoraNews24: “Pokémon and Japan Sumo Association announce partnership”
Casey Baseel. October 26, 2021.
Naturally.
Visual Science Lab: “Unsolicited thoughts on writing blogs and books about photography. For photographers.”
Kirk Tuck. October 6, 2021.
An interesting article on writing voluminous content that was recommended to me by a New Leaf Journal reader. I can relate to some of it, despite not being a photographer, to the extent that I try to publish 4-6 articles every week.
DistroWatch: “ReactOS receives donation celebrating 30 years of Linux”
DistrioWatch. October 20, 2021.
“In an amusing turn of events, a donation program which celebrated the 30th anniversary of Linux has ended up making its largest donation to the ReactOS project.”
Why is this “amusing”? While ReactOS is a free and open source operating system, “[i]t noticeably does not run the Linux kernel.”
New York Post: “West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice gets trapped in elevator at mansion”
Amanda Woods. October 8, 2021.
“First lady Cathy Justice was also briefly trapped in the same elevator recently, the governor’s office said.”
3. The Old Leaf Journal
Now for a timely article from our archive…
“The Trick-Or-Treating Halloween Daycare Ghost”
Nicholas A. Ferrell. October 29, 2020.
I could have re-run this article this year since the same happy Halloween ghost (or something in a ghost costume) is trick-or-treating in front of the same daycare this year.
4. Most-Turned Leaves Of the Week
Every week, I review the most visited (according to our privacy-friendly analytics solution, Koko Analytics) articles between newsletters - covering a period from Saturday through Friday (inclusive). The previous period represented the 43rd such “Newsletter Week” of 2021. Below, you will find our five most-visited articles of the week with additional information about their publication and ranking histories.
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“The Mystery of Sōseki and Tsuki ga Kirei” (No Change)
Nicholas A. Ferrell. March 14, 2021.
Weeks in top five: 27 (16 in first) -
“The Last Stand of Constantine XI” (Change +5)
Nicholas A. Ferrell. May 30, 2020.
Weeks in top five: 15 -
“How to Find Substack RSS Feeds and Other Notes” (No Change)
Nicholas A. Ferrell. June 19, 2021.
Weeks in top five: 11 -
“Installing Ubuntu Touch on an Asus Nexus 7 (2013)” (Change -2)
Nicholas A. Ferrell. July 5, 2021.
Weeks in top five: 11 -
“Persona 4 Golden Digital Artbook Review (Steam)” (Change +1)
Nicholas A. Ferrell. November 15, 2020.
Weeks in top five: 34 (6 in first)
Analysis
For the second time, myTsuki ga Kirei piece put together seven consecutive weeks atop the rankings (first stretch was weeks 19-25). That streak ended when Victor’s Bob Dylan virtual concert review made a splash on the wider internet. My view count statistics suggest that it would take a similarly unusual event to change the top of the ranking next week, but anything is possible.
Speaking of week 25, my piece on the last stand of Constantine XI returned to the newsletter week ranking for the first time since then - tying its best week ranking of second. To be sure, it has been close in some prior weeks in the interim, but an unusually strong week returned it to the top five.
Beyond that, this week’s top five was relatively conventional and a bit softer than week 42. We will see if November presents some new shake-ups and surprises.
5. News Leaf Journal
I do not have much to report on the site news front this week. While the past week only featured four articles instead of our usual five or six, I completed two priority projects with the third Blob Dylan post and my Night of the Forget-Me-Nots review. On Sunday, I will post my normal month-in-review article and preview what you can look forward to in November, as we enter the home-stretch for 2021. Several articles that I suggested were possible in October, including reviews of Ubuntu Touch on a Nexus 7, /e/ OS (an Android alternative), and the PocketBook Color e-reader, can be expected in November. I am also adding a new review project to the list - Pine64’s PineTime open source smart watch.
November will be a month of tech product reviews. December may have a different theme.
Taking Leaf
I hope you enjoyed the 56th edition of The Newsletter Leaf Journal. October was a full month of new content and some minor improvements to the design of our humble online magazine. I look forward to taking an inventory of my project ideas and coming up with a plan for November - the month we will be in when I report to you next week.
Until then,
Cura ut valeas.